Teamwork Archives - Page 2 of 9 - understand-culture

Decided Before the Meeting

In June 2026, the business site Diamond Online published an article by Sakata Kōki, a partner of the consulting group IGPI. Its title asked why Japanese meetings fail when they start with the conclusion. Kaigi no ba de kimaru yō de ite, jitsu wa kaigi no mae ni kimatte iru. “It looks as if things are decided in the meeting, but in fact they are decided before it.”

Sakata describes the essence of nemawashi as sharing the question in advance, so that everyone concerned can discuss on the same assumptions. He advises against trying to persuade everyone in the meeting. Before the meeting, the question should be shared and the atmosphere prepared.

Paid Leave and Colleagues

From October to November 2010, the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training surveyed regular employees aged 20 to 59 about taking paid leave. It received 2,071 valid answers and published the results in April 2011.

Among the reasons for holding back from taking leave, 60.2 percent agreed with Yasumu to shokuba no hoka no hito ni meiwaku ni naru kara. Taking time off would cause trouble for others at work.

Duties at School

Japan’s national curriculum for elementary schools lists, under special activities, the understanding of the role of duty activities such as cleaning, and of the meaning of working.

A guide of Saitama Prefecture describes kyūshoku tōban, school lunch duty. The pupils on duty carry, serve and clear away the lunch. It advises teachers to rotate the tasks, so that pupils try various jobs and learn to work together. As pupils grow older, more of the work should be left to them.

Repaying the Teacher

On March 8, 2018, the shogi player Fujii Sōta met his own teacher, Sugimoto Masataka, in an official game for the first time. Fujii won in 111 moves.

On June 20, 2020, they met again, and Fujii won in 95 moves. Daily Sports wrote that Fujii had once again made an ongaeshi, a repayment of a debt of gratitude, to his teacher.

Brother and Sister System

Some Japanese companies use a burazā shisutā seido, a brother and sister system. Each new employee is assigned a senpai, a more senior employee, who guides the newcomer in how to approach the work and how to think about it. At one brewer, according to an HR glossary, the guidance lasts for the first four months after joining.

Takarazuka

In September 2023, a 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue died. On November 14, 2023, the company said at a press conference that it could not confirm any bullying or harassment, and that the guidance by jōkyūsei, senior members, had been within the scope of work.

On March 28, 2024, the company and its parent group signed an agreement with the family. They accepted 14 of the 15 acts of harassment that the family had raised, and the chairman of the parent group apologized in person.

Radio Calisthenics

In November 1928, rajio taisō, radio calisthenics, went on the air for the first time. The postal life insurance bureau set it up with the national broadcaster and the Ministry of Education after it was proposed as a project to mark the enthronement of Emperor Shōwa. Its first form was named Radio Calisthenics No. 1.

Neither Praised Nor a Burden

Miyazawa Kenji’s poem Ame ni mo makezu (Unbeaten by Rain) ends with a wish. It describes a person whom everyone calls a dekunobō, a blockhead, who is neither praised nor treated as a burden. The poem’s last words say that such a person is what the poet wants to become.

Leaving the Room

The General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party decides by unanimity, as a matter of custom. A 2016 paper by the political scientist Nishikawa Shin’ichi gives examples of how dissent has been handled. In 1974, two dissenting members were asked to leave their seats voluntarily, so that the council could adopt the Japan-China aviation agreement “unanimously.” In 2015, a member who opposed the security bills left before the vote, and the decision counted as unanimous.

On June 28, 2005, the council’s chair, Kuma Akio, broke the custom. He put an amendment to the postal privatization bills to a vote by show of hands.

Not Speaking Their Minds

In January 2024, Persol Research and Consulting surveyed full-time employees aged 20 to 64 online. As reported by the news site TECH+, 41.6 percent said that they did not speak their true feelings at all in one-on-one meetings with their supervisor. In team meetings, the figure was 43.0 percent.